LaRussa retiring

Well, this is a stunner. In a press conference this morning, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa announced he was retiring. LaRussa, obviously, is going out in grand style after winning an improbable World Series title on Friday.

Love him, hate him or indifferent…there is no disputing that LaRussa is headed to the Hall of Fame. Yes he was infuriating at times, and was he ever big on the gamesmanship. And of course, there was Game 5 of the Series last week. But he was a winner, and that’s ultimately what counts the most in the end.

The Reds and Cardinals rivalry has jumped several notches in recent years, in no small part because of LaRussa and his longtime personal rivalry with Reds manager Dusty Baker. There have also been numerous gripes in recent years and disputes — the rain delay thing from April 22 in STL comes to mind this season.

With LaRussa no longer in the picture, what do you think it does for the Reds-Cardinals rivalry? Does their having Carpenter and Molina around still make it that team that gets your dander up?

(UPDATE) And as a reader quickly pointed out, what does mean for the Cardinals’ chances of retaining Albert Pujols?

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